MOORE & TABER                     

 

 

Soil Grouting and Ground Improvement Specialists

 

         

Laguna Canyon Road Interchange, Orange County, California:

Project Description

Moore & Taber used the compaction grouting ground treatment method for a portion of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor in Laguna Hills, California.  The project consisted of an earth fill connector for the corridor, overlaying three 9-foot diameter drainage culverts.  Geotechnical investigative studies revealed that up to 70 feet of Holocene alluvium underlying the proposed structure would be susceptible to large static and dynamic settlements under the new loading condition.  An area of 35,000 ft² (3,289 m²) was treated with 118,200 ft³ (3,347 m³) of low-slump grout.  A total of 921 grout injection points were installed by drilling and driving 8.4 miles (13.5 kilometers) of casing.  The Laguna Canyon Road Interchange at the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor (SR 73) was a design/build project.

Special Focus

An existing 36-inch diameter fresh water line was located within the treatment area, extending throughout the project site.  This was the only water supply to the City of Laguna Beach, with a stored reserve capacity of three days (and a zero-tolerance for movement during construction).  Consequently, compaction grouting was selected as the best method for addressing the problematic soil conditions.

Grouting operations were conducted on a "fast-track" schedule to meet critical-path schedule project objectives.  Protection of the fresh water pipeline was successfully achieved by placement of "story rods" at the pipeline's crown, and monitoring for movement with laser instrumentation.  Evaluation of post-treatment relative density confirmed an average increase in "N"-values that met or exceeded prescriptive engineering objectives.   The corridor project received the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California "1997 Project of the Year" .  Reference:  Strauss, et. al. (2004)

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